“Everything to do with coffee is sensitive to temperature. From where it’s grown, to the final temperature coming out of the machine…temperature is relevant.” This is how Sameer Mohamed came up with the shop name, Fahrenheit, which is located on Lombard Street just south of Richmond and Jarvis. Fahrenheit was born out of love only a year ago when Sameer acted on his genuine drive to make good coffee. His passion to have a shop to call his own came about only two weeks into his first part-time job as a barista. “I wanted to change moods and make people feel good…create a ‘hole-in-the-wall’ and people would come just for the coffee. Now I can say I have achieved it.”

When you enter the 500-square-foot shop, your mood does change: one, because of a good cup of cappuccino, latte, or americano and two, because of the music. “We spend our life here, so I want to make it enjoyable for us, keep up the positive energy within the staff and create an escape for our customers – a complete distraction from their work.” One day you may hear Latin music, the next, some sexy R&B and on a Friday, maybe some bumping House music.

One reason for Fahrenheit’s popularity is their family-like atmosphere. The staff greets patrons by first name. They are friends, not only customers, and this keeps their “extended family” close and always coming back. Their success can be attributed to their true love for the bean. It’s important to Sameer that all staff members “share the same vision and have similar minds to provide top notch coffee and service…to work with individuals who want to learn how the business runs and to one day have their own coffee business.” It’s this eagerness within the employees that makes Fahrenheit a powerful, tight-knit force, providing a product that they are proud of and that people enjoy. “We’re not actors, we’re artists, and I love what I do”.

Sameer’s goal is to continue his business so that one day his future daughter or son can have the option to step into the family business – something he so often craved growing up. He would also like to open up more Fahrenheit babies in the Toronto area, but says with a sense of spirituality, “It depends what path life presents to me.” The shop is a huge part of Sameer’s social life. He lives and breathes it. On the rare occasion when he’s not at the shop, he takes the time to cook and eat. I see a theme here. The man likes to create and enjoy what he has created. Why not, eh?